
A DISCOURSE 

ON THE 

EARLY HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA; 

BEING AN ANNUAL ORATION 

BELiyEBEO BEFOBE THE 

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 

HELD AT PHILADELPHIA, 
FOR PROMOTING USEFUL KNOWLEDGE; 

PCBSDANT TO THEIR APPOINTMEAj, IN THE HALL OP THE UNIVERSITX 01 
PESNSYLVANIA, ON WEDXESDAT, THE 6tU OP JUNE, 1821. 



/ 



BY PETER S. DU PONCEAU, LL.D. 

ONE OF THE VICE PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETT. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER. 



JUVAT IN 8TLVIS HABITARE. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

PRIjYTED AJVD published Br ABRAHAM SMALL, 

No, 16j, Chcsnut Street. 

i821. 



7 



.^? 



5 



Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to ivit ■■ 

BE it remi-mbered. That on the 7iineteenth day of June, in the forty- 
fifth year of the Independence of the United States of Ame- 
f , rncu. A- D- 1821, Abraham Small, of the said district, hath 

'• ' ■' deposited in this office the title of a book, the right -whereof he 
claims as proprietor, in the words folloivinff, to loit •" 
*' A Discourse on the Early History of Pennsylvania; being an Annual 
Oration delivered before the American Phiiosophical Society, held at 
Philadelphia, for promoting Useful Jinfarledge; pursuant to their ap- 
pointment in the hall of the Universityli, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, 
the 6th of June, 1821 By Peter S. Du Ponceau, LL D. one of the 
Vicp Presidents of the Society- Published by order- Juvat in sylvis 
habitnre." 

In conformity to the act of the congress of the United States, intituled 
" An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of 
maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies 
during the times therein mentioned." And also to the act, entitled "An 
act supplementary to an act, entitled " An act for the encouragement of 
learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors 
and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned' and 
extending the benefits thereof to the arts of desigmng, engraving, and 
etching historical and other prints." 

D CALDWELL, 
Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



AT a Special Meeting of the American 
Philosophical Society^ held at their Hall, on 
the 8th of June, 1821, it was 

Resolved, unanimously, that the thanks of the 
Society he presented to Mr. Du Ponceau, for 
his eloquent and i^eresting Oration, on the 
Early History of Pennsylvania ; and that he he 
requested to furnish them with a copy, for 
puhlication. 

Extract from the Minutes. 

R. M. PATTERSON, Secretary. 



A DISCOURSE, &c. 



Mr. President — Gentlemen : 

Six years have elapsed since a committee 
was instituted in the bosom of this Society, 
whose labours were principally directed to the 
object of making researches into the history 
and antiquities of America, but more particu- 
larly of our own state. This committee have 
not been remiss in their exertions ; with the 
aid of several of their zealous and patriotic fel- 
low citizens, (whose names and services have 
been gratefully recorded) they have succeeded 
in collecting ample and precious materials, 
which only wait for the hand of the artist to 
work them into shape. It was hoped that the 
impulse thus given would have been caught by 
some able writer, who, avaiUng himself of these 
rich stores, would have combined the scattered 
facts into a faithful and elegant narrative. But 
our expectations have hitherto been deceived, 
and Pennsylvania still wants an historian. 

B 



6 

The crude and imperfect annals collected by 
Ro!)crt Proud, although they bear the title of 
" History of Pennsylvania," are generally ac- 
knowledged to be undeserving of that name. 
As a chronicle of the earlier times of our com- 
monwealth, this book is valuable, as well as for 
the numerous documents with which it is in- 
terspersed. It comes down, as a narrative, no 
later than the end of governor Thomas's ad- 
ininistration, in 17^7; beyond that period we 
find only a few dates of some of the most re- 
markable events; from which we must con- 
clude that the author became tired of his task, 
01'. perhaps, that he undertook it at too ad- 
vanced a period of his life, and was prevailed 
upon l)y his friends to publish it in its unfinish- 
ed state. For Robert Proud is well known to 
have been a man of strong natural powers, and 
not deficient in acquired knowledge ; but the 
monument which he has left behind him does 
not entitle him to the fame of an historian. As 
a man, he was good and benevolent ; he was 
a lover of virtue, and his work breathes 
throughout those sentiments of stern morality 
and mild philanthropy, which characterized our 
early settlers, and are still to be remarked in 
their descendants. 

A w^ork of much higher pretensions, how- 



ever, elaims our attention. When 1 said tliat 
Pennsylvania still wanted an historian, I was far 
from intending to depreciate the labours of our 
former associate, professor Ebeling, of Ham- 
burg, whose valuable history deserves to be 
better known to our fellow citizens. In the 
small space of one duodecimo volume, he has 
condensed the whole history of this state from 
its first settlement to the year 180;3. His nar- 
rative is well connected throughout, drawn up 
in plain and unaffected language, and without 
pretensions to literary ornament; yet his style 
pleases from that very simplicity. It is close 
and methodical, and particularly distinguished 
by great perspicuity. His facts have been ob- 
tained from the most authentic sources, and his 
authorities are regularly quoted. It contains 
few errors, and those but trifling, and such as 
may be amended in a translation. This work 
is not encumbered with tedious documents, 
crowded with uninteresting details, or swelled 
with unnecessary notes. The author dis|)lays 
great discernment in his selection of facts, and 
impartiality in his delineation of characters, 
and docs not appear* to have been swayed by 
any feelings but those which become an liisto- 
rian. 

Your Historical Committee were early sen- 



8 



aible of the value of this book, and, at their 
recommendation, a learned member of this 
society* undertook its translation, which is 
now ready for the press. It is to be hoped 
that it will soon be published, and that its sale 
will amply reward the pubhsher. Its size and 
its merit peculiarly recommend it to be used 
as a school book throughout this extensive 
state. 

Still Pennsylvania wants an historian. The 
book I have just noticedf will always be va- 
luable as an abridgment of our history ; it will 
also be an excellent guide to him who will un- 
dertake to write it on a larger scale, and save 
him nmch laborious research, by pointing 
out the sources from whence he is to de- 
rive his information on each particular event. 
1 do not hesitate to say that it will shorten 
his labour by more than one half; for he 
will no where else be able to obtam the very 
important aid which this book will afford 
him. It will, in a short compass, give him a 
complete view of his wjiole ground, enable 
him to measure each period of time, and each 
event in tlie scale of relative importance ; in 

• John Ehcrle, M. D. of lliis city. 

f This llisloiy of Pennsjlvanio is the sixth volume of a larger >oik of the 
author, eiitillcd " Geograpfi;/ a/td History of ^^nierica," of which a particu- 
lar account will be given in a note af tlie etifl of this discourse. 



9 

rfhoit, he will liavc a sketch of liis work ready 
prepared to his hand, with the subdivisions ex- 
hibited in their various proportions ; such, at 
least, as the author conceived them to be. 
Those who have ever attempted the labour of 
historical composition will well understand the 
value of such helps as these. 

As you have shewn me so much indulgence 
as not to restrict me in the choice of the sub- 
ject of this anniversary discourse, you will not 
wonder that, as a member of vour Historical 
Committee, zealously devoted to the objects of 
its institution, I have chosen the topic which is 
nearest to my heart. If I had but talents equal 
to my zeal, neither my advanced age nor the 
weight of professional avocations should stand 
in the way of my ambition to become the his- 
torian of this great and important state; but I 
need not regret my deficiency, while there are 
others so eminently qualified for the task and 
to whom the country looks for its execution. 
I shall have attained the object of my wishes if 
my weak efforts shall stimulate some one 
among those men of highly gifted minds to this 
honourable undertaking. * 

Let it not be imagined that the annals of 
Pennsylvania are not sufliciently interesting to 
call forth the talents of an eloquent historian. 



10 



It is true that they exhibit none of those strik- 
in.s; events wjiich the vulgar mass of mankind 
consider as alone worthy of being transmitted 
to i)osterity. No ambitious rival warriors oc» 
cupy the stage, nor are strong emotions ex- 
cited by the frequent description of scenes of 
blood, murder, and devastation. But what 
country on earth ever presented such a specta- 
cle as this fortunate commonwealth held out 
to view for the space of near one hundred 
years, reahzing all tliat fable ever invented or 
l)oetry evei* sang of an imaginary golden age. 
Happy country, whose unparalleled innocence 
already communicates to thy history the in- 
terest of romance ! Should Pennsylvanians 
hereafter degenerate, they will not need like 
the Greeks, a fabulous Arcadia to relieve the 
mind from the prospect of their crimes and 
folhes, and to redeem their own vices by the 
fancied virtues of their forefathers. Pennsyl- 
vania once realized what never existed before 
except in fabled story. Not that her citizens 
were entirely free fiom the passions of human 
nature, for they were men and not angels ; but 
it is certain that no country on earth ever ex- 
hibited such a scene of happiness, innocence 
and peace, as was witnessed here during the 
first century of our social existence. 



11 



I well remember them, those patriarchal 
times, when simple, yet not inelegant manners 
prevailed every where among us ; when rus- 
ticity was devoid of roughness, and polished 
life diffused its mild radiance around, unas- 
suming and unenvied ; when society was free 
from the constraint of etiquette and parade ; 
when love was not crossed by avarice or pride, 
and friendships were unbroken by ambition 
and intrigue. This was the spectacle which 
Pennsylvania offered even in the midst of the 
storms of our revolution, and which she con- 
tinued to exhibit until a sudden influx of riches 
broke in upon the land, and brought in its 
train luxury, more baneful than war.* This 
torrent has been checked in its course ; we 
are gradually returning to those moderate ha- 
bits, which we never should have abandoned. 
But we are too far advanced in population and 
arts ever to see our ancient manners restored 
in their primitive purity ; all that we can do 
now is to preserve their memory in the histo- 
rical page, as a sul)ject of pride to our descend- 
ants, and of admiration to succeeding genera- 
tions tlirough the world. 

Yet amidst this simplicity, what grand and 



• Sxvior armis 
Luxuria incubuit. — Lucan'. 



isi 



niagiiificent scenes court the pencil of the his- 
torian ! His it will be to delineate the majestic 
featuies of one of the greatest legislators that 
ever appeared among mankind. Did I say 
one of the greatest ? I hasten to correct my 
error : William Penn stands the first among 
the law givers whose names and deeds are re- 
corded in history. Shall we compare with him 
Lycurgus, Solon, Romulus, those founders of 
military commonwealths, who organized their 
citizens in dreadful array against the rest of 
their species, taught them to consider their fel- 
low men as barbarians, and themselves as alone 
worthy to rule over the earth ? What benefit 
did mankind derive from their boasted insti- 
tutions ? Interrogate tlie shades of those who 
fell in the mighty contests between Athens and 
Lacedsemon, between Carthage and Rome, and 
between Rome and the rest of the universe. 
But see our William Penn, with weaponless 
hands, sitting down peaceably with his followers 
in the midst of savage nations whose only occu- 
pation was shedding the blood of their fellow 
men, disarming them by his justice, and teach- 
ing them, for the first time, to view a stranger 
without distrust. See them bury their toma- 
hawks in his presence, so deep that man shall 
never be able to find them again. See them 



13 



under the shade of the tliick groves of Coa- 
quannock extend tlie bright chain of friend- 
ship, and solemnly promise to preserve it as 
long as the sun and moon shall endure. See him 
then with his companions establishing his com- 
monwealth on the sole basis of religion, mo- 
rality and universal love, and adopting as the 
fundamental maxim of his government the 
rule handed down to us from heaven, " Glory 
to God on high, and on earth peace and good 
will to all men." 

Here was a spectacle for the potentates of 
the earth to look upon, an example for them 
to imitate. But the potentates of the earth 
did not see, or if they saw, they turned away 
their eyes from the sight ; they did not hear, 
or if they heard, they shut their ears against 
the voice which called out to them from the 
wilderness, 

Discite justitiam monili, et non temnere Divos. 

The character of William Penn alone sheds a 
never fading lustre upon our history. No other 
state in this union can boast of such an illustri- 
ous founder; none began their social career 
under auspices so honourable to humanity. 
Every trait of the life of that great man, every 
fact and anecdote of those golden times will be 



14 



sought tor by our descendants witli avidity, and 
will furnish many an interesting sul)ject for the 
fancy of the novelist, and the enthusiasm of the 
poet. It is, therefore, highly important, that 
wliile recent tradition and numerous authentic 
but perishable documents, are still in our pow- 
er, we should collect all those valuable mate- 
rials, and embody their substance in an histo- 
rical work worthy of being handed down to 
posterity. Although such a work will not be 
fruitful of great incidents, still it will exhibit 
human nature under many a varied aspect; 
great faults Avill be found associated to great 
virtues; the reader will, more than once, while 
he admires the latter, be compelled, with re- 
gret, to acknov^ledge, as the former strike his 
view, that no efforts of the human mind can 
ever produce absolute perfection in this sub- 
lunaiy world, and that it is in vain for us to 
expect to be angels on this side of the eternal 
mansions ; and, upon the whole, it may, with 
ti'uth, be asserted that there will be found in 
the History of Pennsylvania, much to instruct 
and much to delight. 

The historian will take a cursory view of 
the various vicissitudes that attended the first 
settlement of the ancient culonv of Virginia 
di'.i'^ng a quarter of a century, from the time 



15 

when it was taken possession of for the En- 
glish crown by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1594. to 
the year 16 lO, when Lord Delaware, arriving 
there from England, as captain general, found 
its population reduced, by a dreadful famine, 
to the inconsiderable number of 60 souls. Yet 
three years afterwards the colony had so far 
recovered from tliat calamity, that her next 
governor. Dale, sent an expedition to the 
northward, under Argal, which destroyed the 
French settlements in remote Acadia, and 
compelled the Dutch, already established at 
Manhattan island, to submit to the sovereignty 
of England. 

It was on his voyage to Virginia that Lord 
Delaware discovered the great bay and river 
to wliich he gave his name, and which Hudson, 
sailing in the Dutch service, had passed by in 
the preceding year. The Dutch called it the 
South River, by which name it was known for 
more than half a century, to recover aftenvards 
and preserve for ever that of the gallant com- 
mander who had saved the first English colony 
in America from impending destruction. 

But the Dutch on Manhattan did not long 
acknowledge the supremacy of the English 
crown. In the year 1614, they erected Fort 
Amsterdamj where New York now stands, 



16 

and put themselves in a posture oi detence 
against foreign assailants. Then commenced 
in America the empire of the Dutch nation, 
flushed with the pride of her young indepen- 
dence, and of her victories over Spain, at that 
time considered the greatest power in Europe, 
She claimed all the country between the two 
great rivers which Hudson had discovered, one of 
which still retains the name of North river, which 
he gave to it, and even extended her preten- 
sions to the south side of the river Connecti- 
cut. At that time the soil of New England 
was yet untrodden by European feet ; but a 
numerous and hardy population was soon to 
press on the Dutch settlements from the east, 
and in less than fifty years to put an end to their 
dominion on this continent. This was to have 
been expected by those who considered the 
difllu'cnt spirit in which the two nations colo- 
nized the country, where the Dutch sought 
only trade, while the English sought freedom 
and a home. 

The Dutch and English colonies were 
now progressing together, but with unequal 
steps. What was doing towards the north is 
of little interest to our own history, it is enough 
for us to know tliat for several years the for- 
mer nation did not extend her settlements to 



17 

the banks ot the Delavvai'e, where she had 
only a few trading establishments on the east- 
ern shore of the river, wlicn another nation 
appeared and seated herself on the opi)Osite 
side, then considered a part of the territory of 
Virginia. 

That nation was Sweden, then governed 
by the illustrious daughter of Gustavus Adol- 
phus, aided by the counsels of chancellor 
Oxenstiern, one of the greatest ministers that 
a sovereign was ever blessed with. Their 
genius carried into execution the establish- 
ment planned while Gustavus was yet on the 
throne, of a colony on the banks of the Dela- 
ware, which was doomed to last no longer 
than the reign of the one and the life of the 
other.* A cession of the British title to that 
part of the country was obtained from the un- 
fortunate Chailes ; but the Dutch claim sub- 
sisted in its full force, and after nineteen years' 
unquiet possession, the Swedes were compell- 
ed, in 1655, to submit to the superior force of 
that nation, whicli in less than ten years after- 
wards was to see her own power annihilated 
by the same means which she had employed 
against her weaker neighbours. 

The first settlement of tlie Swedes on the 

• Christina abdicated the crown of Sweden, and Otensiiern died, in 1654. 



18 

Delaware took place in the year 1638, at which 
period our history properly begins. The de- 
scendants of those sons of the north make part 
of our present population, and we trace with 
pleasure among them the names of many of 
those who shone at that time among the first 
ranks of society, and one of their pubhc edifices 
still meets our view, and strikes our minds with 
that veneration which never fails to be inspired 
by relics of former times. The historian will 
not pass over that period in silence. By the 
munificence of Mr. Russell, our society is in 
possession of valuable authentic records from 
the chancery of Stockholm, which throw con- 
siderable light on the colonial views and poUcy 
of Christina's government. 

Here two Swedish governors, Printz and 
Risingh, successively exercised a supreme but 
short lived authority. History will delineate 
their characters, and trace the consequences of 
the timidity of the one, who suffered the Dutch 
to erect a fort on the Swedish territory,* and 

* Fort Casimir, winch was built by llie Dutch, in 1G51, on the spot where 
New Castlo now stands. By this raeans they obtained the command of the 
navij^ntion of the Delaware, to counteract which, governor Printz caused an- 
other fort to be t-recled below, on the east side of the river, which was called 
Klfaborg, from which, liowever, the Swedes were soon after driven away by 
tin- mosquitoes. 

In 1654, governor Risingh took fort Casimir by surprise ; bat the next year 
the Dutch came in force and took possession of the wliole Swedish terri- 
tory. — Ebeling. 



19 



the rashness of the other, wlio unseasonably 
expelled them from it, and by this act of force 
lost tlie country, for ever, to his sovereign. 
The historian will pay a deserved tribute of 
praise to the mildness of the Swedish govern- 
ment and people, and above all to their strict 
justice towards the Indian nations, by means of 
which they firmly secured the love and af- 
fection of all the surrounding tribes. He will 
not fail to interest his reader by a lively de- 
scription of the face of the country at that 
time, of the various settlements of the Dutch 
and Swedes on both sides of our river, and 
point out the situation of the numerous forts 
which their mutual jealousy erected, and of 
which, at present, not a vestige remains. On 
Tinicum island rose the fortress of New Got- 
tenburg, the' metropolis of the Swedish Ameri- 
can empire. Here, says their historian Cam- 
panius, governor Printz built an elegant man- 
sion-house for himself and his dependants, 
with a garden, a pleasure-house, and other 
appurtenances.* There a church was built, 
and there the principal inhabitants had their 
houses and plantations. What is become of 
that seat of luxury and grandeur? Not a 
trace of its former glory is to be seen ; it lies 

• He gave it Ihe name ai Print zhoff, — Campanic. 



so 



waste and desolate, tenanted only by grazing 
cattle, and near it, where, perhaps, formerly 
stood one of those handsome dwellings which 
the historian describes, is an impure lazaretto? 
the chosen abode of pestilence and death. 
Such are the vicissitudes which our young; 
country has already experienced. 

A different scene will soon open to our 
view. The Dutch expel their rivals from this 
continent, and Nova Suecia again becomes a 
part of the New Netherlands. At New Am- 
stel, now New Castle, is established the seat of 
delegated authority ; and Old Upland,* since 
honoured by our first colonial legislature, is 
made the chief place of a judicial district. 
But this new order of things was not to be of 
long duration. In 1664, the English expel the 
Dutch from all their North American territory^ 
with as little C(*.remony as these had done their 
former neighbours. Three years afterwards, 
the treaty of Breda sanctioned the irregular 
conquest. 

Now another race of men is about to appear 
upon the stage. The names of both Dutch and 
Swedes are going to be merged into that of 
Enghshmen, which, after the lapse of a cen- 
tuiT, is to be clianged for another destined to 
still greater fame. 

• At present Chester. 



SI 



On the eastern side of the Delaware, Bur- 
lin2;ton already appears, but will soon be 
eclipsed by a rival city, wliicli will be the 

pride and glory of the western world. 

* * •* * -a:- 

But I perceive that my subject is carrying 
nie far beyond the ol)ject and limits of this 
discourse. Our history is so full of interest- 
ing scenes that I am at a loss how to choose 
the few traits that I am permitted to exhibit 
to you. 

See you yon gallant ship, sailing with propi- 
tious gales up the river Delaware ? Her decks 
are covered with passengers, enjoying the mild 
temperature of our climate, and the serenity of 
our autumnal sky. They view with astonish- 
ment the novel scenery which strikes their 
sight ; immense forests on each side, half de- 
spoiled of their red and yellow leaves, with 
which the ground is profusely strewed. No 
noise is heard around them, save that of the 
deer rustling through the trees, as she flies 
from the Indian wlio pursues her with his bow 
and arrow. Now and then a strange yell 
strikes the ear from a distance, whicli the 
echoes of the woods reverberate, and forms 
a strong contrast to tlic awful stilhicss of the 
scene. Observe the plaiimcss of the dress of 

D 



22 



those v^nerahle pilgrims, and see them lift 
their eyes with silent gratitude to heaven. 
They are a chosen band of friends who have 
left the Hritish shores to establish here in peace 
their philanthropic commonwealth; their ship 
is called the Welcome, Greenaway commands 
her, and William Penn is among them. 

Now they land at New-Castle, amidst the 
acclamations of the diversified population 
which inha))it these shores. The Enghsh, the 
Welch, the Butch, the Germans, the Swedes, 
all crowd to hail the great man whom they 
had been expecting for one long year, and 
whose fame had already preceded him to these 
distant regions. The historian will not omit 
to describe this pleasing scene, and it will be 
more than once the favourite subject of the 
painter's pencil. He will choose the instant 
when William Penn has just landed with his 
prin; ipal followers, while the others are still 
on board the vessel, or in the boats making 
for the shore. There you see him, supported 
by his friend Pearson. From his manly port 
and the resolution which his countenance 
displays, you would take him to be a warrior, 
if the mild philanthropy which beams from 
his eyes did not reveal his profession, still 
more than the simplicity of his garb. He 
who stands before him in British regimentals, 



S3 



and whom be shakes afTectionately by tlie 
hand, is liis relation Markbain, vvboin be bud 
sent in the preceding year to explore the land 
and prepare the way for the new settlers. 
Those on the rigbt, a numerous band, are your 
honoured ancestors, some of whom accompa- 
nied him on tbe voyage, and others had arrived 
before, and are now asseml)led here to greet 
him. There stand Pemberton, Moore, Yardley, 
Wain, Lloyd, Pusey, Chapman, Wood, Hol- 
lingswortb, Rhoades, Hall, Gibbons, Bonsall. 
Sellers ; Claypoole, whose ancestor, not many 
years before, ruled the destinies of the British 
empire ;* West, one of whose descendants will 
charm the world by his magic pencil, and for 
whose name and fame rival nations will, in af- 
ter ages, contend ; and many other worthies 
whom it would be too long to enumerate. On 
the left is a number of Swedes, wfiom their na- 
tional dress, light hair, and northern counte- 
nances, sufliciently designate: there you see 
the brothers Swanson,t who own the ground 
on which the city of Philadelphia is soon to 
stand, and whose name one of our streets will 
perpetuate. With them are Stille, Bankson.:|: 
Kempe, Rambo, Peterson, and several others 

" The Claypoole family »re lineally descended from ihe jirutector Olivo" 
Cromwell. 

I Their original name was S-wciuov. 
t Originally Bengtsen. 



24 



whose names still live in their descendants. 
Their leader is Lacy Cock,* whose merit en- 
titles liim to a seat in the first council of the 
new commonwealth. Observe how he extends 
his hands ; promising, in the name of his coun- 
trymen, to love, serve and obey their revered 
proprietor, and declaring that this is the best 
day they ever saw. The Dutch are dissemi- 
nated through the town which was built by 
them, as you may easily perceive by the sharp 
pointed roofs of their houses. They smoke 
their pipes in silence; and, after their manner, 
partake of the general joy. 

But see, close to that half ruined fort, this 
motley group of Indians, whose anxiety mani- 
fests itself on their countenances, and who view 
the new comers with looks in which suspicion 
seems as yet to predominate. They are the 
Lenni Lenape, whose history and manners are 
already familiar to you. At their head is Ta- 
MANEND,t the great and the good, who is said 

• Lars or Lazvrcnce Cock, corrupted into Lacy Cock. 

■\ The same wliom we call St. Tammany. For his character, see Hecke- 
wclder's History oi" the Iiidiitii Nations, chap. xi. In I69i, we find him by the 
name o\ King Taminknt, a parly to a deed of release ota tract of land lying 
between Neshnminv ■Mn\ Poquessing, on the river Delaware, and extending 
backwards to the utmost bounds of the province. This land he, with others, 
had firevioushj sold to \\illiiiin Penn. In 1697, he, by the name of i\\t: grea$ 
Sachem Taminent, with his bi-oiher and sons, signed another deed for laoOs 
between Pemmopcck and Neshaminy creeks. See Smith's Laws of Pennsrl • 
vania, vol. ii, pp. Ill, 112. 



25 

never to have had his equal for virtue and 
goodness, and whose memory is still lield in 
veneration by the savage nations. His eye is 
steadily fixed on William Penn ! His great 
mind has already discovered in him a conge- 
nial soul ; alone among his tribe, he shews by 
his looks that noble confidence which will not 
be deceived. He it is, who under that elm 
tree, which many of us have seen in its vigour, 
but which, alas ! has not long since been de- 
stroyed by the violence of the winter storm, 
will sign that famous treaty which the genius of 
West has immortalised, and which a great 
writer of another nation* has, with more wit 
than truth, described as the only one which 
was never sworn to and never broken. Nor 
was it violated while Penn lived, noi* while the 
ascendency of his great mind was yet operating 
among us. Afterwards, indeed ! — but I will 
not anticipate on the painful duty of the histo- 
rian. 

This memorable landing took place on the 
21th of October, 1682, a day of proud and 
glad remembrance, which we ought to cele- 
brate on every returning anniversary. While 
our brethren of Massachusetts commemorate 
every year, in the dreary time of winter, the 

* VolMi:^-. 



landiiii^ of tlieir pious ancestors on the barren 
rock of Plymouth, which their gratitude has 
consecrated to perpetual veneration ; shall we 
suffer the epoch of the arrival of our great 
founder, and his venerable band of followers, 
to pass away unnoticed? Let us begin this 
very year to distinguish ourselves by a similar 
act of patriotism, at a time when the season in- 
vites, and the bosom of our mother earth is 
covered with her choicest fruits. 

From this day the History of Pennsylvania 
becomes more particularly your own. If 1 had 
not already trespassed too much upon your 
patience, I would with delight pass in review 
before you, some more at least of the interest- 
ing traits with which this history abounds, and 
which an abler pen than mine, will, I hope, 
at no distant day, fully delineate. Above all, 
I should love to dwell on the great character 
of our immortal founder, and to point out, by 
numerous examples, that astonishing ascend- 
ancy over the minds of the mass of mankind, 
which enabled him to raise a flourishing and 
powerful commonwealth by means of all others 
the most apparently inadequate. To acquire 
and secure the possession of an extensive 
country, inhabited by numerous tiibes of war- 
like savages, without arms, without forts, with- 



S7 

out the use or even the demonstration of phy- 
sical force, was an experiment wliich none hut 
a superior miiid would have conceived, which 
none hut a master spirit could have success- 
fully executed. Yet this experiment succeed- 
ed in a manner that has justly excited the as- 
tonishment of the whole world. " Of all the 
colonies that ever existed," says Ebeling, 
" none was ever founded on so phllantinopic 
'• a|)lan, none was so deeply impressed with the 
" character of its founder, none practised in a 
" greater degree the principles of toleration, 
" Hberty, and peace, and none rose andflourish- 
" ed more rapidly than Pennsylvania. She was 
" the youngest of the Brhish colonies establish- 
" ed l)eforr the eighteenth century, hut it was 
" not long l)efore she surpassed most of her 
'• elder sisters in population, agriculture, and 
''general prosperity."* This our autlio^ justly 
ascribes to the genius of William Penn, who 
disdaining vulgar means, dared to found his 
power and his commonwealth on the nobler 
feelings of man. 

But I must leave it to the future historian 
to delineate the character of a legislator who 
never had a model, and who, though crowned 
with success, will proI)ably never have an imi- 

• Gcschiclite von Pennsylvania, p. 1. 



as 



talur. He will desciibe the state of this 
country (luring the two years of tliat great man's 
residence here after his first arrival ; he will tell 
us, how a legislature was formed and assem- 
bled within six weeks at most after his land- 
ing, whose first act was to recognize as bre- 
thren all who believed in one God, the up- 
holder and ruler of the universe ; how a code 
of laws was enacted in three days, founded on 
tlie genuine principles of religion, justice, and 
morality;* he will shew the territory which 
now forms the State of Delaware, united to this 
province in legislation as well as in govern- 
ment, the friendship of the Indians secured, 
large territories obtained of them by fair and 
honourable purchase, a noble city founded, 
and its walls rapidly rising as it were by en- 
chantment, the country increasing in popula- 
tion and wealth, and enjoying undisturbed 
peace, prosperity, and happiness, until his 
absence shewed how much all these things 
were due to the immediate operation of his 
powerful mind. 

For during the fifteen years which followed 
his departure, until his next return in 1699, 
history will have to picture far different scenes. 

• Tills coilu was called llie Great Imio, and well deserves the name. The 
Ilistoi-iral ('ominiltee is in possession of a copy oril, extracted by our associ- 
ate, -Mr. I{. Conyngham, IVoiu tiie archivcB of the state. Il has never yet 
been printed entire. 



The territories separated from the province, a 
schism in the church, and factions in the state 
carried to such a degree of violence as to afford 
a pretext to the British ministry to take into their 
hands the government of the country, and ig- 
nominiously annex it to that of a neighbouring 
colony. The historian will tell how William 
Penn rose superior to all these difticulties, re^ 
covered his former authority, and by his pre- 
sence here, silenced all factions, reunited the 
lower counties and restored the land to its for- 
mer unanimity aad peace. It was then that 
after four different constitutions had been suc- 
cessively tried and found inefficient, he gave 
to Pennsylvania that charter, wliich continued 
in force until the revolution, and which the 
people received with expressions of gratitude 
too soon afterwards forgotten. Unfortunately, 
this charter contained the seeds of that division 
between the province and territoiies, which 
after his departure broke out again, never to 
be healed. 

It will ever l)c a source of regret that Wil- 
liam Penn did not, as he had contem})hited, 
fix his pernmnent residence in his province, 
and that, after the lapse of a short year, lie 
again embarked for Enf};land, whence it had 
been decreed by Providence that he never 

E 



30 



should letuiii. Tlicrc is too much reason to 
bcheve that in this he yielded to the influence 
of his wife, and of his dau2;hter Lsetitia, who 
do not appear to have heen pleased witli a re- 
sidence in this country.* Yet Hannali Penn 
w'as a woman of great merit, and her name will 
shine conspicuously, and with honour, in our 
History. But when we consider her rank, 
education, and fortune, and the situation of 
Pennsylvania at that time, w^e need not won- 
der that she preferred the society of her 
friends in her native land to a hfe of hard- 
ship and self denial in a newly settled colony. 
And it is easy to conceive how William Penn's 
return may have been postponed amidst efforts 
to conquer her reluctance, until other circum- 
stances intervened which prevented it alto- 
gether. 

A single trait will be sufficient to shew 

* William Pcnn -went to Englanil towards the end of 1701, to prevent tlic 
passage of a bill wliicli had been brought into parliament, lor ihe piwpose of 
depriving him of (lie government of his province, and vesting it in the king. 
Wlien he arrived at London, he found that the danger Mas over, and there 
appeal's to have been nothing at that time to have prevented his coming back 
immediately. It was his intention, when he departed from Pennsylvania, to 
liave left his wife and daugiitcr here as a pledge for his speedy return, but 
they could not be prevailed upon to remain, at wliich he appears to have been 
much grieved, and in the pains which he took to quiet the minds of the inha- 
bitants on this occasion, it is easy to perceive forebodings in his mind which 
the event but too certaiidy realized. This is one among the many curious his- 
torical facts which are contained in the valu-.ible correspondence of the Honor- 
able James Logan with William Penn, collected and enriched with interest- 
ing notes, by a Lady whom I shall presently have occasion more particularly 
'o mention. 



31 



what evils would have been averted from 
Pennsylvania, if William Penn had remained 
liere to the end of his days. Nine years af- 
ter his departure, when his country was again 
rent by intestine divisions, and a factious legis- 
lature, taking an unmanly advantage of the 
misfortunes which had of late fallen heavy 
ui)on him, were stiiving, by every means, to 
wrest power from his hands, a letter fiom 
him to that asseml)ly, in which he tenderly 
expostulated with them for their ungrateful 
conduct, produced an entire and a sudden 
change in the minds of the deluded people, 
and at the next election his enemies were 
hurled from the seats which they had disgraced. 
A truly national answer, says his biographer 
Clarkson, and we may add, the strongest proof 
that can be given of the powerful ascendency 
of this great man over minds of an inferior 
stamp. 

It will be the duty of the historian to trace 
the origin, and mark the rise and consequences 
of those unhappy feuds which so long agitated 
Penfisylvania, and embittered the whole life of 
our illustrious founder. He will find much to 
be ascribed to the weakness or wickedness of 
the diflerent lieutenant governors, who ruled 
the province while William Penn lived, and 



as 

for some time after his death. With a faithful 
and imnaitial pencil, he will delineate the cha- 
racteis of those who successively filled that 
important station. He will describe Evans, a 
rash, intemperate, and licentious young man, 
ignorant of the people he was called upon to 
govern, and entirely unlit for the trust com- 
mitted to him ; Goo kin, an open hearted, ho- 
nest old soldier, i)etter calculated for the field 
than for the cabinet; and Keith, a desperate 
intriguer, who courted the favour of the peo- 
ple by the sacrifice of his duty to his patrons, 
and whom that people justly rewarded, 
in the end, with their contempt and neglect. 
With the same correct and steady hand, 
he will pourtray the other prominent cha- 
racters, who figured in tliese scenes. In 
David Lloyd he will shew a man of strong 
natural and acquired talents, bred in a revo- 
lutionary scliool, skilled in the dangerous art 
of dividing and leading po|)ular assemblies, 
tenacious of his ends, too little sciiipulous 
about the means, and indulging his personal 
resentments against the proprietor, at the ex- 
pense of the liapi)incss and welfare of his 
country ; while in his antagonist, James 
Logan, he will have to describe a character of 
a far different stamp : a man of profound 



38 

learning, skilled in the useful as well as in 
the elegant sciences; one possessed of a 
strong and correct judgment, faithful to his 
trust, and of unshaken integrity, but whose 
stern Roman virtue could not stoop to defeat 
by similar means, the intrigues of his adver- 
saries ; therefore the world misjudged him ; 
but his great patron knew him well, and ap- 
preciated his worth, and he preserved his 
confidence and that of his family to the last 
day of his life. History will do him justice, 
and destroy the unfounded prejudice which a 
too celebrated book* has excited against him. 
With such opposite characters, we need not 
wonder that David Lloyd obtained, more than 
once, unmerited success, over his adversary. 
In popular governments, as well as in others, 
the arts of the politician too often triumph over 
integiity and virtue. Yet, though David Lloyd's 
political conduct was marked by urtjustiliable 
intrigue, there appears no reason to suppose 
that his nund was naturally base or corrupt. 
He was huriied by the violence of his pas- 
sions, and by resentments for some supposed 
injustice, which he thought had been done to 
him by the proprietor, into a system of op- 
position to his government. Thus he was im- 
perceptibly led into an abuse of his popular 

• The Historical HcTf w, ascribed, pcrliHiis nninsil)-, to Dr. Franklin. 



34 



talents, whicli, no doubt, when his feelings be- 
came more calm, he afterwards regretted. 

Wc find him, at a late period, assisting 
James Logan in ascertaining tlie proprietor's 
title to the lower counties, and those two great 
men, acting harmoniously together, for the 
public good. " It is soothing," says the elo- 
quent annotator to Logan's correspondence, 
to whom we arc indebted for this interesting 
fact ; " it is soothing to observe, in the cha- 
'• lacters of men who, like these, hitherto have 
•' been swayed by prejudice or passions, that 
" wlien the evening of life advances, the 
" storms which have agitated them subside, 
" and the soul, like the sun of the natural 
" world, emerging from the clouds which have 
" obscured it, illuminates the horizon with its 
" parting beam, and the day closes in serenity 
" and peace." 

In this sliort quotation, Gentlemen, you 
have already recognized the elegant and feel- 
ing language of our revered friend, Mrs. Ue- 
B oil A II Logan, in whom the historian that 
Pennsylvania calls for would soon be found 
if she could but be persuaded to trust her ex- 
quisite talent. But, alas! her mind, that mind 
formed to instruct and delight the world, is 
now only tuned to sorrow. History has lost 



35 



its charms, while her soul is concentered in 
the thought of the irreparable loss which she 
and the country have suffered, and which our 
Society so justly laments. 

And art thou gone, Logan? friend of man! 
friend of peace! friend of science! Thou whose 
persuasive accents could still the angry pas- 
sions of the rulers of men, and dispose their 
minds to listen to the voice of reason and 
justice ! Thou whose hfe was devoted to the 
cause of humanity, and to the promotion of 
harmony and concord between nations! What 
though party spirit has in vain endeavoured 
to obscure thy virtues, they will live in tlie 
faithful page of history, and thy name will be 
handed down with honour to posterity.* 

We, Gentlemen, paiticularly the members 
of your Historical Committee, can never for- 
get the powerful aid which, in the pursuit of 
our literary objects, we have received from 
our lamented associate. Other scientific in- 
stitutions also have just cause to regret his 
loss. I could not, on this occasion, pass him 
over in silence, nor dispense with scattering 
a few humble flowerets u])on his tomb. 

I had designed to have extended this dis- 
course a little further, and to have spoken to 

• Dr. GiOTRc I.o»an ilinl un ilie Oili ol April last, at liis family scat a' 
Stcnton, near (;cl■mallto^nl. 



3G 



you oi the errors of tlie descendants of Wil- 
liam Penn, and of the violence of their oppo- 
nents, whose over heated zeal did not even 
spare his venerated memory ; I would have 
traced the rapid rise of this country, of this 
city in particular, and its various puhlic insti- 
tutions, many of which, and our Society 
among others, were established before the 
period of the American Revolution ; but after 
touching on a mournful theme like that 
which we have just left, neither your minds 
nor mine are disposed to wander again in the 
fields of History. I quit them, nevertheless, 
with regret, deeply impressed as I am with the 
importance of our domestic annals, and the 
interest which their narration would possess, 
if drawn by the pen of an able writer. If l)y 
the few traits that I have ventured to sketch 
with an unskilful hand, I have succeeded in 
excidng a more general desire to become 
particularly acquainted with our colonial his- 
tory ; if, above all, it were not too presump- 
tuous in me to expect tliat this weak attempt 
will stimulate some person of adequate talents 
to undertake the honourable task of giving it 
to the world, then I might indulge the hope 
tliat you would not think that I have tres- 
passed so long on your time and attention in 
vain. 



NOTE 



ON 



Ebellng's Geographij and Hist or if of America. 



TUTS WORK is entitled, in German, Evdbeschreibimg' und Gescluchtt 
von Jinienha, " (.ii-ograpliy ami History of America." It consists of seven 
duojit'cimo volunifS, j>rintci| at Hambm-g, 1793-181G. Its plan, like Robert- 
son's nistory, embraces the uiiolu of the westei-n hemisphere ; but the author 
■was unfortunately arrested by dcnih, while he was eng-agid in writing iht- His- 
tory of Virginia, as a Sc<iuel to the Geography of that Slate, which forms the 
seventh, and last volume of the collection. 

It may not he uninteresting to give here, a detailed view of the contents oi 
this valuable work. 

\o]. I. Published in 1793, contains the Geography and History of New 
Hampshire and .Massachusetts, prefaced by a short Geographical and Histo- 
rical Account of New England, generally, — 860 pages. 

^'ol. II. Published in 1794. Geogra[)hy and History of Rhode Island, Con- 
necticut and Vermont. Geography ot New York, — 1114 pages. 

Vol. III. Published in 1796. History of New York, Geography and His- 
tor)- of New Jersey, — 676 pages. 

Vol. IV. PuWlshed in 1797. GEooaAniy or Pevvstlvama, — 914 pages. 

Vol. V. Published in 1799. Geography and History of Delaware and 
Maryland, — 791 pages. 

Vol. VI. Published in 1803. HisTonr of Pk.vnsylva.via,—52j pages. 
V ol. VII. Published in 1810. Geography of Virginia,— 810 pages. 
The Historical parU of this work are as follows: 

1. A (Jeneral Historical View of New England, from 102O to 1080, uhcu 
ihu charters of those colonies were annulled by James 11.^3 pages. 

2. Historv of N<"w Hampshire, from the discover}- of the R;»y of Piscata- 
rjua, by Capt-iin John Smith, in I6l4, to 1790, when the Constitution of the 
State was amended by a Conventirrti at Conconl, — .">7 pages. 

3. History of Mass-ichusftts, from the landing ol th<r Pilgrims, in li.-'it, i.i 
the Establishmciitor the Federal ConstilutK>n in 1787,-317 pages. 

r 



36 



4. History ot Rhode Island, from its discovery by Adrian Block, in 1609, 
to the Census in 1790, — 80 pages. 

5. History of Connecticut, fi-om its discover}- by the Dutch, in 1609, to go- 
vernor Huntingdon's election in 1785, — 118 pages. 

6. History of Vermont, from the earliest account of the Countrj' to 1790, 
— 39 pages. 

QTj" The History of the five, now six, Eastern States, contains, together, 
596 pages, and forms a collection well worthy of being given to the public in 
a translation. 

7. The History of New York, from its discoveiy to the commotion which 
took place on the occasion of Governor Jay's embassy to England, in 1794. 
This History concludes thus : " These deluded people did not know that 
"peace can seldom be too dearly purchased, and had forgotten that they were 
" indebted to the firmness of their new Governor for that important pacifica- 
" tion which sealed the independence of the United States," — 570 pages. 

8. History of Jfew Jersey, from Hudson's discover)', in 1609, to GoTernor 
Howell's election, in 1794, — 118 pages. 

9. History of Delaware, from its discovery by Lord de la War, ia 1610, to 
the death of Governor Bedford, in 1797, — 174 pages. 

10. History of Maryland, from its first settlement, in 1634, to the election 
of Governor Ogle, in 1798, — 111 pages. 

11. HiSTOBTOP Pennstlvania, from itsfirst settlement to 1802, — 525 pages. 

Thus the whole of the Historical Works of our Author, contain 1894 pages, 
and form, together, a valuable body of History of the American states, north 
of the Potowmack, the general character of which is the same which has 
been described in the preceding Discourse, in speaking of his Histoiy of Penn- 
sylvania. It is at all times interesting to know the view which a foreigner 
takes, at a distance, of our domestic affairs, and this interest has been strongly 
exemplified in the favourable reception which the public has given to the 
translation of Botta's History of the American Revolution. If the Historical 
Woi-ks of Eheling are not written iu Hi) fascinating a style as this tioily classi- 
cal composition , they may be said to be far more correct in their details ; and 
much more, if not entirely free from thos'^ mistakes arising from the want of 
personal observation and insufficiency of local knowledge, which, in the eye* of 
the natives of a countr)-, are always a great, and sometimes an unpardonable 
defect. 



LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 



014 209 121 5 




^tLi^-il 



